Oscars Shmoscars (Academy Awards highlights)

I have to confess, I am not a big fan of televised awards shows, even the Oscars, but I wound up watching a good chunk of last night's Academy Awards ceremony anyway, even though I hadn't seen most of the films that were nominated.

(I also watched E! Online's Live from the Red Carpet with Ryan Seacrest, which was way better than the ABC version. And frankly, I was puzzled by this year's fashion choices. Zoe Saldana is gorgeous, but that purple and sequined thing she was wearing?! WTF? Also on my worst-dressed list: Mariah Carey, Amanda Seyfried, and Diane Kruger, though there were many, many other stars who when you saw them you thought "WTF were they thinking?!" As for the best dressed? Hands down Tom Ford, who also designed Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, and Colin Firth's tuxedos.)

Onto the show... Despite the mixed reviews, I liked Neil Patrick Harris's Las Vegas-style opening Oscar number. (If or when How I Met Your Mother goes off the air, I think NPH has a career as an awards show MC.) I also liked Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as hosts, though I use the word "hosts" loosely as they barely graced the stage after their opening duologue, which was a shame.

As for my favorite moments from last night's Academy Awards show, those would have to be Ben Stiller presenting the award for best makeup and Sandra Bullock's best actress acceptance speech (though Steve Martin's quip to Christoph Waltz cracked me up).





As for the best Oscar song, though, this one may be my all-time favorite. ;-)



Got an opinion about the 82nd Academy Awards (aka the Oscars)? Leave me a comment.

Oscar Preview (Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin to host!)

For those who haven't yet heard, the producers of this year's Academy Awards (aka the Oscars) have tapped actor/comedians Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin (who co-star in the upcoming flick It's Complicated) to co-host the 82nd Academy Awards, which air on March 7, 2010.

I think the Martin-Baldwin pairing is inspired, and has great comedic potential. Though I have to admit, I'm a little bit worried that Alec Baldwin is an alien and is just using the Academy Awards, which will be beamed to millions of homes around the world, as a way to further soften our brains.



And what better way to further soften our brains than with banjo music? Even better, Steve Martin playing all of this year's Academy Award-nominated songs on the banjo (preferably with Muppets).



GENIUS. Evil genius. But still genius.

UPDATED: H/T to friend of the blog AVW for reminding me of this classic Steve Martin SNL sketch. I am actually not a big fan of the Oscars, but I would watch -- even pay money to watch -- the Academy Awards just to see Martin and Baldwin (filling in for Dan Aykroyd) as those two wild and crazy guys, the Festrunk Brothers: